IL On the Scene: Syracuse 13, Cornell 12

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Rob Pannell says it is the best game in college lacrosse, and few could argue with him based on what went down Wednesday night in the Carrier Dome. It was high intensity and high energy for 60 full back-and-forth minutes, a breathtaking drama that finally ended with Cornell midfielder Connor English’s dazzling drive and low-to-high dunk shot from the crease rang off the crossbar and soared high into the air, sealing a 13-12 Syracuse victory.

“It’s why you play the game, games like today,” Pannell said. “Cornell and Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. There’s nothing like it. I’ve been playing in this game for years, and it’s the best game in the country in my opinion. A 13-12 game . . . it was worth the price of admission. There is nothing more exciting. It’s why I came back for a fifth year, to play in this game.”

And then some, even though that crossbar prevented the game from going to sudden-death where it surely would have awakened memories of the 2009 Division I title game won 10-9 by the Orange. Sure it was only the regular season, a midweek meeting between upstate New York rivals who have faced each other 98 times, but it had a tournament feel to it. Every loose ball drew a crowd of flying bodies. Every blistering shot or check sent the 3,862 fans in attendance into a frenzy. Simply put, there was never a dull moment.

“I just think it was a great lacrosse game,” said Orange coach John Desko, whose team rallied from behind to edge top-10 team Princeton 13-12 on the road Saturday, then duplicated the feat Wednesday night in the Dome against the No. 2 Big Red. “We’ve been in a lot of games like this this this year. We really don’t look at the scoreboard a lot, we just keep playing and have been able to come from behind and win. And this was a very big win for us. I think it will be a big one for us in May, too (come NCAA Tournament selection time).”

It surely should. Cornell (10-2) entered the contest boasting an explosive offense led by Pannell, the fifth-year senior who is a favorite for the Tewaaraton Trophy. The superstar was surrounded by a host of fellow seniors, players who had helped defeat Syracuse handily each of the last two seasons. SU senior captain Brian Megill theorized it was the memory of the 2009 overtime heartbreak in the title game that was fueling the Big Red’s drive.

“I always think that 2009 championship game just lingers with every recruit, everybody that steps through the door at Cornell,” Megill said. “They bring that to every game, that desire to beat Syracuse, and I think the last two years they showed it. They beat us.”

The Orange (8-2), meanwhile, entered the game ranked No. 7 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll despite victories over annual giants Virginia, Johns Hopkins and Princeton. Perhaps the lack of respect by the voters is due to Virginia’s rare struggles and Hopkins’ Friday night home loss to Albany. Perhaps it was due to SU’s ugly losses to Albany and Villanova.

Whatever it was, the stage was set for a classic, and it lived up to its billing. Along the way there were several significant developments. Chief among them:

— Pannell scored four points (one goal and three assists) in the game’s first 10 minutes, helping Cornell storm to early leads of 4-0 and 5-2. SU went to a zone when it fell behind 3-0, and the moved seemed to settle the defense.

“We just wanted to slow their momentum,” defensive coordinator Lelan Rogers said. “We knew coming in that they could score goals in bunches, and that’s what they were doing. So we popped into the zone and slowed them down a little bit.”

The players later convinced Rogers that they had gotten the proper feel for their opponents and requested that they go back to man-to-man.

The Orange rewarded the trust by limiting Cornell to six goals over the final three quarters after allowing six in the first alone. More importantly, Megill and Co. shut out Pannell over the final 50 minutes.

“Rob’s a great player,” Megill said. “I said going into this game we were going to have to limit his points as a defensive unit. He’s going to get his points, and he did. We came out slow and went to a zone early, made our adjustments and went back to man and did a great job shutting him down in the second half. It’s a testament to the adjustments we made.”

“We scored six goals in the first quarter and six the rest of the game,” Pannell said, “so it was a great job from there by the Syracuse defense.”

— With Cornell’s attack suddenly under wraps and SU’s unit limited by its lack of a true dodger it became of contest of midfields, and while the Orange won the battle 10-9 it should be encouraging to DeLuca that players such as Connor Buczek (four goals), Max Van Bourgondien (3-1) and English (1-1) stepped into the field and supplied ample punch.

“There were a lot of bright spots,” DeLuca said. “I think we did show we’re a pretty balanced and versatile offense.”

— Conversely, Cornell’s d-middies had their hands full with SU’s middies, who are clearly the strength of the team. Senior Luke Cometti scored a career-high four goals, JoJo Marasco (2-2) contributed his usual dynamic performance and junior Scott Loy (1-2) and sophomore Henry Schoonmaker (2-0) continued to blossom.

“They roll out a ton of talent from the top to the bottom of their roster,” DeLuca said. “JoJo Marasco is a great player. Luke Cometti had a great night and caused us fits. Loy did a good job. Schoonmaker did a good job. They’re athletic, they’re big and they play with both hands and shoot the ball extremely well. Still, we can’t score 12 goals and lose a game. We have to play better defense.”

— SU goalie Dominic Lamolinara rebounded from a slow start to finish with 12 saves, eight in the second half. Cornell senior AJ Fiore (eight saves) never seemed to find his stride. At one point early in the second quarter Cornell had a 20-7 shot advantage but only a 6-5 lead and Fiore had yet to make a save.

Those were the stories inside the big story, which was a great game from start to finish between to longtime rivals.

“That was two top-10 teams duking it out, battling over 60 minutes, and it came down to the very end of the game.”